If you want to configure the settings of your home network, you will have to access the admin panel of the router. At some point, you forget what the new username and password are! In that case, you will need to find a way to recover your router username and password. Today, I will show you several methods to do it. Let’s get started!
Method 1: Use the default username and password
Here are some steps to help you know the default username and password of your router:
Step 1 – Take a look at the manual
The default combinations to log in for your router differs from a manufacturer to another. Even the different models from one manufacturer may not have the same default information. So, you should take a look at the manual of your router to see what exactly the manufacturer set for it.
Typically, the manual is where you can find almost all the essential information about your device. What if you forgot where it is?
Well, in that case, try the next step!
Step 2 – Examine your router once again
Some manufacturers often print the default user and password of the router right on the device. Thus, you should try looking around everywhere on your router.
Step 3 – Try logging on by some frequently used usernames and passwords.
There are, in fact, some usernames and passwords that the manufacturers usually use for their routers such as “admin and admin” or “admin and 1234”. In each one, the former is the username and the latter is the password.
Step 4 – Use an online search engine
If the things above don’t work, you can try using an online search engine such as Google to find your default router username and password. Search your router brand and you will find the default username and password easily.
For example, if you use a Belkin router, you can type “Belkin router default username and password”.
See more: How to Find Router Username and Password without Resetting
Method 2: Reset the router
If the first method is not effective, you can try recovering the router username and password by resetting your router. It sounds quite easy to do but you also take the following suggested steps.
Step 1: Reboot the router
There are two common ways to conduct the router restart easily.
Use the reset button (or hole)
If you do the hard reset the router, be aware that all the current settings will be changed into the default configurations that the manufacturer sets at first. Here are the steps to do the hard reset:
- Find the reset port on your router. It can be either a button or a small hole on the device.
- Once finding it, press it and hold it for at around 10 seconds before releasing it.
- Wait for several minutes for the all router’s lights are on.
Unplug the router and modem
- Instead of using the reset button or reset hole right on the router, first, take the plug of your router and modem out of the power source.
- Unplug all the cords connecting your modem and your router.
- Wait for about one minute until the devices are completely turned off. Also, don’t forget to disconnect all the connections to the Internet regardless of the wireless network or an ADSL one.
- Plug your modem again to its electricity supply and wait for some minutes until it is totally back to the normal work as well as is connected back to the Internet.
- Connect the router to the modem as well as plug it back to all your devices. Wait for a few minutes until the connections become stable.
Step 2: Upgrade the firmware
For your information, every router needs some software to control and adjust how it performs. Although the updates for router firmware are not as many as those for mobile apps, they are vital to the operation of your router. If your router is not updated with the newest version of firmware, it may encounter operation problems, particularly regarding security.
That’s why after resetting the router, it is suggested that you should update your firmware so that the device can perform the best as well as avoid unnecessary malfunctions. Here are some steps for you to do the firmware update for your router.
- First of all, you need to access the admin panel of the router using the default username and password. You can check method 1 above to find this information.
- Once logging in successfully, look around the main menu of the admin panel to find the section for checking and updating the firmware. This section can be named differently depending on the router brand you are using. Find and click that option.
- After going into the sub-site, check the latest version of the firmware. If your router has not been updated yet, download and installs it following the instructions on the screen.
You should also remember that all the Internet connections will not be available to use until the updating process is complete. Often, this work takes about several minutes. You’d better try to interfere with the device while it is in the middle of the update process. This can prevent the interruption which can cause some malfunctions to the router.
Step 3: Check the related integral programs
With the growth of smartphones and the Internet of Things, many router brands allow users to manage the settings with an app installed in their phones. In that way, we can control the router anywhere and anytime we want. Similar to the firmware, those apps also need to be updated frequently to ensure its best operation.
So, at this step, check it out and make sure that you are using the most updated version of them. It doesn’t take much time but brings you a lot of benefits.
Step 4: Change the default password
As you reset your router, you will simultaneously recover the router username and password to default. Although you may keep that password to log in next times, we suggest that you should not do that for your own safety and privacy.
In fact, keeping the default username and password can put you in the risk of being access with permission or worse, being hacked. Thus, change the default password to your own one which only you know. You can’t be too careful, right?
See also: Default Router Username and Password List – How to change the router’s password
Method 3: Forward ports
Have you ever tried to access the router’s admin panel and forward ports to another program that is simultaneously in operation? If you have, you may know that it can be done without the password. It seems a bit sneaky but it is not. Actually, this skill is very helpful when you need to access a private network.
Why’s that?
Well, it is thanks to what we call UPnP (Universal Plug and Play). This platform can work on a lot of routers. It has the capability of commanding the router to disclose ports. So, you can make use it to do recover the router username and password. To check if your computer has such a program, you can look around the settings in the port configuration. If there is, you will find it with no difficulty.
In case you can’t find that kind of program on your computer, don’t worry! You may search on the Internet the similar programs which can forward ports from your computer. You just need to download and install it then follow the instructions. That’s all I want to share with you today! I know the router and its technical issues sometimes can freak you out and all you want to do is calling for help from a technician or your Internet Service Provider.
However, as you see above, everything turns out not too difficult as it looks, right?
I hope you like what I shared here so that you can handle yourself. If you have any further questions, leave them in the comment below. I will try to respond to you as soon as I could!